How One Community Fights Water Pollution
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Christy Goodman's July 7 Metro article on efforts to raise oysters in Hellen Creek in Lusby ["Hard-Shell Tactics; In Clean-Water Quest, Neighbors Become Oyster Ranchers"] highlighted a significant trend: small, community-based programs that use oysters to reduce pollution in local waters. These projects complement efforts by Maryland officials to restore big oyster reefs in the Chesapeake Bay.
Over the past year, our group, the Southern Maryland Oyster Cultivation Society (SMOCS), has been receiving strong support from individuals, business groups, community associations and state agencies for a program that will raise over 1 million oysters annually for deposit in sanctuaries in Solomons Harbor, not far from Hellen Creek.
SMOCS's goal is to accumulate a large enough number of oysters in these creeks to produce a measurable improvement in water quality. At 55 gallons per oyster, that would mean a significant localized reduction in algae. This could result in, among other things, the return of submerged plants that provide refuge for molting crabs.
SMOCS, like the residents of Hellen Creek, looks to clean pollution from local waters -- one oyster at a time.
LEONARD B. ZUZA
President
Southern Maryland Oyster Cultivation Society
Lusby
